Goodbye Caleb

Aria+flashback

Start the music when the story tells you to. Long chapter🎉

After a few minutes Aria sat down on a chair on the stage. She was holding a guitar. The man in the black suit helps her set everything up.
She starts talking: "hi everyone, I'm Aria, I'm going to sing a song or two for you today. Most of you might not know, but Caleb has a great voice and he's also good at writing songtexts, I mean he..was." Everyone is completely silent. "So a few years ago, I spend some alone time in Amsterdam, to write stories, but also songs. this is where I ran into Caleb again. He stayed over at my place for a few days. He was a little lost at the time because he just got out of a very hard break up." She avoided my eyes. "I told him to write down his feelings and that's exactly what he did. We wrote these songs together, it's made out of his texts and mine. This one is called 'empty handed'" she announced.

The music starts playing. Caleb has always had this talent but he never felt like sharing it with anyone. Or at least, that's what he told me. But I guess that changed after we broke up. I'm scared of hearing the words he wrote. The words he wrote when he was in pain. The words he wrote about .. about me. The words he wrote when he was still alive.

(Start this song)👇🏼

Aria starts singing.

Besides the word style I didn't hear anything related to me in the first stanza.

I did take Caleb for granted. I feel a lump in my throat. I get mad at myself.

I look at Aria who's completely in the middle of her song.

When it ends eveyone is clapping. Me too.

"The next one has more lines of Caleb's songtext." She looks at me. The look in her eyes warning me for what's coming.
"This one is called 'have you ever'

Play the song that's in the top of this chapter, above the title.

The music starts playing again. Aria plays her guitar.

Af her first lines, memories of our break up already come to my mind.
Toby-who's sitting behind me- stands up and walks out.
I cry as the thoughts of me breaking Caleb's heart go trough my mind. I never wanted to break his heart.
Aria's teary eyes cross mine, her voice breaks a little as she sees me crying my eyes out. As much as I want to follow Toby outside, I can't, I need to stay here, for him.
Aria sings something about being in the arms where you belong and the feeling of wanting Caleb's arms around me gets stronger.
My heart breaks in thousand pieces as Aria sings the chorus again. I bury my face into my hands. The tears dripping down on my black dress.

The song comes to an ending. Everyone claps again but I can't bring myself to it. My face still buried in my hands. Emily sits down next to me on Aria's seat and holds me. My thoughts drift off at one of the memories this song made me think of.

Flashback

It was the day after Hanna and Caleb's prom. They were lying in Hanna's bed after a perfect, long night. It's 11 in the morning and they've been up for about an hour. They've just been cuddling and they talked about their future. School was really over now and Caleb got a job in New York. The evening before he had asked Hanna to go with him. But hey, we all know how that went, don't we.
Hanna is currently cuddled up into Caleb's chest.

"Can I choose the color of the walls in the appartement?" She asks.
"You can choose it all, Han." He smiles, as he pulls her even tighter to him.
"Oeh and can we maybe.." She stopped talking and hesitated.
"Can we what?" Caleb asked, chukling.
"Can we buy.. a pet?" She asked with her cutest voice, knowing he couldn't say no to that.
"Whatever you want baby." He kisses her on her head.
"Really!?"
"Sure" he laughed.
She kissed him on his mouth. The intention was for it to be a quick kiss, but it got passionate fast. She hovered her body over his while making out. They were already naked so nothing had to be done.
Hanna pulls away.
"We can't do this again." She chuckles.
"Why not?" Caleb whined.
"My mom, we're driving her crazy, it'd be like the 5th time." Hanna says.
"In one night." Caleb laughs.
"Shut up." Hanna snaps at him.
"Make me." He says defiantly.
She kisses him.
He puts his arms around her waist and lays her down next to him. As close as possible. Her head buried in his shoulder.
"I love you'" he whispers in her ear.

"Hanna?? Hey Han?" Someone tapped me on my shoulder. My tears have dried. I look behind me. It's Spencer.
"I'm going to talk now, are you okay?" She asks.
"Totally." I lie.
Everyone around me is talking, waiting for the next person to break down on stage.
Wait.
Spencer?
Spencer is going to talk? About Caleb?
No. She can't do that.
She can't go up there and act like she knows him. Act like she had been.. Like she had been the love of his life!?
That can't happen.
It won't.
I get up and walk over to the stage where Spencer is ready to talk

...